Press Releases

Press release

State Schools Chief Torlakson to speak at Kit Carson Middle School Career Day
Mayor Johnson, City Councilmen Cohn and McCarty and SCUSD Superintendent Raymond will also attend

May 23, 2012 (Sacramento):  State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson will appear at Kit Carson Middle School’s Annual Career Day on Friday (May 25) after a 14-year-old 4.0 GPA student, who emigrated with her mother from Costa Rica in 2008, asked California’s schools chief to attend.

Rebeca Corrales wrote Torlakson a letter in which she credited Kit Carson Principal Charlie Watters and the school’s teachers and staff for helping her and asked California’s top educator to attend Friday’s event.

“I believe that with all the love and patience the staff gave,

Press release

Arts festival brings together students of all abilities
The work of more than 1,500 special and regular education Sac City Unified kids will be presented on Friday

May 17, 2012 (Sacramento):  Student artists from Sacramento City Unified School District will pound drums, breakdance, sing and perform original theater pieces at the 25th annual Very Special Festival of the Arts on Friday (May 18).

The one-day event is sponsored by I Can Do THAT!/Very Special Arts, the only program in Sacramento County that provides instruction in the arts to students with and without disabilities together through artists-in-residence at schools.

Press release

SCUSD kids perform tomorrow in Carnegie Hall program
Link Up provides professional musicians to work with elementary school students

May 16, 2012 (Sacramento):  Eight hundred students from five Sacramento City Unified School District elementary schools that participate in the Carnegie Hall Link UP program will perform on Thursday (May 17) at  Capital Christian Center.

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, in partnership with the Sacramento Philharmonic and the Vocal and Instrumental Teaching Artists Academy, brings music instruction to students at William Land, Sutterville, Elder Creek, Abraham Lincoln and Maple schools.

Students will demonstrate what they’ve learned in a concert.


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Press release

Students enlist restaurants to help save Adult Education
Fremont School for Adults students hold Second Saturday fundraiser with food from Zócalo, Tres Hermanas and others

May 10, 2012 (Sacramento):  Students from Fremont School for Adults – slated for closure in the fall as the Sacramento City Unified School District grapples with $43 million in cuts – are enlisting local restaurants in their efforts to keep their programs going.

Zócalo, Tres Hermanas, La Fiesta Mexicana Bar and Grill, Coco Loco Mexican Restaurant, La Placita and Ay Jalisco are donating food to be sold at the historic midtown campus during the upcoming Second Saturday celebration.

The idea for the fundraiser came from the students, many of whom work in area restaurants.

Press release

SCUSD approved for $4.1 million in federal grants
The funds would support and expand after-school and summer learning programs for students

May 9, 2012 (Sacramento):  Sacramento City Unified School District has been approved to receive $4.1 million in federal grants to support and expand student learning before and after the bell rings and during the summer.

The 21st Century Afterschool Program grants will allow SCUSD to continue its innovative slate of programs aimed at enriching the educational experience for kids, boosting their academic performance and teaching them about healthy living.

The California Department of Education, which administers the grant program, notified SCUSD that it intends to award

Press release

Chinese ‘Peace Messengers’ to visit SCUSD school on Monday
Eight middle and high school students will tour William Land Elementary School’s Mandarin Immersion class

May 4, 2012 (Sacramento):  The Jinan Peace Messengers Delegation from Jinan, China, will visit the Mandarin language immersion class at William Land Elementary School on Monday.

Eight middle and high school students will be part of the delegation, along with two teachers. They will arrive at William Land at 11:30 a.m. and stay through lunch. Four members of the Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation will accompany the delegation.

“We are thrilled to host these young ambassadors of good will,” said Principal Ellen Lee.

Press release

Sac Ballet to kick off McClatchy High’s 75th birthday party
Dancers in the gym will treat alumni, kids and community to rousing performance of ‘Jazzin’ ’

May 2, 2012 (Sacramento):  Sacramento Ballet will perform in C.K. McClatchy High School’s gym on Thursday to kick off the school’s 75th anniversary year and to celebrate the long-standing relationship between the company and the school.

The ballet – featuring principal dancer Alexandra Cunningham, a McClatchy alum – will perform movements from “Jazzin’ ” by Darrell Grand Moultrie to the music of Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and others. McClatchy’s Jazz Band will also play from its repertoire of jazz standards.

Press release

Advocates of work-based learning to tour SCUSD school
Health Professions High School is one of six sites on Linked Learning schedule Wednesday

May 1, 2012 (Sacramento):  Statewide advocates for strengthening the connections between K-12 schools, college and the world of work will visit Health Professions High School on Wednesday as part of an all-day Capitol-area tour.

The Spring 2012 Convening is sponsored by Linked Learning Alliance, a collective of education, workforce and public policy advocates.

Press release

Bullying Expert to Address LGBTQ Youth Conference
Cal Poly Professor Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer to give keynote address at SCUSD event

April 25, 2012 (Sacramento):  Nationally recognized bullying expert Dr. Elizabeth J. Meyer, author of “Gender, Bullying and Harassment,” will give the keynote address at Sacramento City Unified School District’s “No Time to Lose” LGBTQ youth conference this Friday.

The conference is a key component of SCUSD’s comprehensive approach to combating bullying in schools and in cyberspace.

Press release

SCUSD Trustees Will Weigh in on Tax Initiatives Tonight
Board of Education meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Serna Center

April 19, 2012 (Sacramento):  Sacramento City Unified School District’s Board of Education will consider a resolution in support of both statewide tax initiatives headed for the November ballot at its meeting tonight (Thursday, April 19).

The initiatives – one supported by Governor Jerry Brown and teachers unions and the other by civil rights attorney Molly Munger and the state PTA – would both raise revenue for California public schools. Currently, both initiatives are in the signature-collection phase.

Press release

SCUSD to Honor Two World War II ‘Survivors’
Award-winning author interned after Pearl Harbor and rare tree both to be celebrated at ceremony on Friday

April 18, 2012 (Sacramento):  Kiyo Sato, 88, is a survivor. A native of Sacramento, her Japanese American family became the target of prejudice after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was eventually forced to live in an internment camp in Arizona.

Despite these struggles, Ms. Sato eventually returned to Sacramento, joined the U.S. Air Force, finished her education and become a successful school nurse and award-winning author.

A rare pink almond tree on Folsom Boulevard near the Rancho Cordova library is a survivor, too.

Press release

Kids Vie for $5M in Funds at ‘Green School’ Showcase
Blue-ribbon panel of local experts will award bond money to student designed proposals for more sustainable campuses

April 16, 2012 (Sacramento):  Fourteen student “green teams” from the Sacramento City Unified School District will showcase projects to make their campuses more eco-friendly at SCUSD’s first annual Project Green Showcase on Wednesday (April 18).

Viable projects are in line for $5 million in facilities bond money set aside for green school initiatives.

“Not only are we encouraging our students to think deeply about making our community a better place in the future, we are providing them with the funds to take their projects from concept to reality,” said SCUSD Superinten

Press release

Rosemont Rallies to Support Neighborhood Schools
‘Essence of Rosemont’ on Friday will showcase student achievement, community involvement

April 12, 2012 (Sacramento) – The Rosemont community will come together on Friday (April 13) for “Essence of Rosemont,” a giant block party designed to demonstrate support for public schools, kids and neighborhood unity.

Kids will be jumping, cheerleaders will be turning cartwheels and bands will be playing at the third annual “Essence,” event, a fun-packed evening of carnival games, bounce houses, live music and an outdoor movie on an enormous 60-foot-wide screen.

“We are so proud of our schools and so pleased that the community has rallied to show their support for our stu

Press release

Neighbors asked to help protect schools over Spring Break
Metal thieves, vandals prey on schools during the holidays

March 30, 2012 (Sacramento):  Spring is a busy time of year – especially for vandals, thieves and arsonists looking to take advantage of empty school campuses.

In light of this, SCUSD is asking the community for help in keeping schools safe and secure over Spring Break (March 31 through April 8 – school resumes Monday, April 9).’

“Most of our schools are surrounded by homes, and we need those neighbors to join us in protecting these valuable and sometimes vulnerable community centers,” said Sacramento Police Lt.

Press release

Disabled vets to present school with $500 and ‘surprise’
Donation reflects vets’ gratitude for Hollywood Park Elementary students’ letters of support

March 29, 2012 (Sacramento):  Last Veteran’s Day, students at Hollywood Park Elementary School wrote letters to veterans thanking them for their service to the country.

On Friday, some of those veterans will return the gesture of gratitude by presenting the school with a $500 check – and a surprise for Principal Hamed Razawi.

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Press release

SCUSD’s School Celebrates Diversity with ‘Unity Day’
Kit Carson Middle School honors the community’s rich cultural heritage with performances, food

March 29, 2012 (Sacramento):  Students at Kit Carson Middle School come from diverse backgrounds – families have roots in all corners of the globe. To celebrate this diversity, the school on Friday is holding a Multicultural Unity Day Celebration.

Activities at Friday’s event include performances by the Fenix Drum and Dance Company, LeAnthony Castillo Dance Company, the Leonardo da Vinci Very Special ARTS Blues Band and local martial arts master Franco Parchamento.

Press release

Restaurant Run by Fifth Graders Entices VIP Guests
Chef Patrick Mulvaney is working with SCUSD kids to bring elegant dining experience to Oak Park school

March 27, 2012 (Sacramento) – A fancy restaurant – complete with celebrity chef, fine linens, haute cuisine and “cocktail” bar – opening in Oak Park this week is expected to draw a VIP guest list of local movers and shakers.
The twist: This “Five Star Restaurant” will be run entirely by fifth graders.

On Wednesday (March 28), a group of dedicated elementary school students will transform the cafeteria of Oak Ridge Elementary School in Oak Park into a “Five Star Restaurant,” an elegant evening conceived, designed and executed by the students themselves – with the help of midtown c